Page 14 of Can't Miss Christmas

She ran her hand along his fine ass, then wrapped it around his shaft and stroked him. He let out a strangled groan. His gaze, bright, intense, and vulnerable, told her he was just as affected by their lovemaking as she was.

She was very wet, and he was stroking her, playing, tormenting. She felt feverish, quaking, turning her head restlessly until he kissed her, murmuring soothing words to calm her while he slipped his fingers inside her and continued his sensuous torment.

“I need you inside me,” she said, begging him, but he shook his head. Brought her hands together above her head and held them there as he rained kiss after kiss upon her lips. Her back arched, every muscle tightened and tensed. She opened her body to him, and her heart. He kissed away her cries as she came, releasing in a heady rush as she fell over the edge, exploding in a frenzy of feelings that overtook her completely.

Graham sheathed himself. As she guided him inside her body, he began a slow, steady rhythm, one that rocked her to her soul, filling her to the limit, and yet somehow wasn’t enough. She wrapped herself around him, took all of him inside her. His gaze locked on her, direct and honest and raw. She was powerless under it, and yet she’d never felt so free, with this complicated, difficult, amazing man whom she simply could not live without.

They rode the wave of release together, until at last they collapsed, still entwined in each other’s arms. Graham smoothed back her hair, kissing her neck, her forehead, and for a few minutes, they simply lay there, surrounded by silence in the dim room. His arm covered her possessively, held her lightly at the waist, and she stroked it, the sense of peace and contentment of being with him settling in like the thick blanket of snow outside.

She wished they could stay in this special bubble forever where there were no problems, no pain, no outside world.

With that thought, the room phone rang. Graham reached over to answer it. The conversation was about the state of his car, so Grace climbed out of bed to head to the bathroom. Or rather she tried. Graham tugged her back and playfully bit her arm to get her to stay. Then gave her a lively swat on her butt to send her on her way.

She managed to pull on some jeans and a sweater. When she came out, Graham was dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling through his cell. He gestured for her to come sit next to him.

“That was Hector from the front desk. My car’s in the shop, and it’s going to take at least a week. The shop people brought over all your books from the trunk, and they’re bringing them up now. And there’s a bus going to Philly that passes through town at four o’clock, but there’s only one seat. I told him we’re not interested.”

Her heart leapt at his last statement. It meant he wanted them to stay together. She wanted that too. But then she remembered his family, and the fact that tomorrow was Christmas. “Your family’s expecting you. You should take the seat and get home to see your brother.”

“I don’t want us to split up,” he said. “I don’t want to leave without you. I’m sure there’s another bus in the morning.”

She thought about everything that had happened since the time she’d stepped into the Barnes and Noble yesterday, which now seemed like a million years ago. Despite the storm and the accident—or maybe because of them—they’d found each other again, and it felt so right.

Graham kissed her and rubbed her arm. “I should go talk to the guy at the shop.”

“I was thinking I’d take my books to the hospital and give them out. The kids would enjoy them, and I really don’t want to travel with all these boxes on a bus anyway.” She wasn’t quite sure what she expected him to say. But it wasn’t what he said next.

“I want to come with you.”

His words struck her to the core. Startled and pleased her.

“I could help you,” he said. “Carry your books. Be your PR person. Anything you need. What do you say?”

At one time, she’d believed he didn’t support her career, when things had happened so fast and their life had gotten overtaken by her sudden success. That he wanted to take part now thrilled her. “I’d love for you to join me.”

She felt just like she had in the early days of their marriage. Giddy and in love.

Maybe this dizzy, heady feeling had something to do with the fact that it was Christmastime and they’d been thrown together, and of course things had happened. Nature had simply taken its course, and they’d acted on the explosive attraction between them.

Or maybe it had everything to do with the fact that she was still in love with him—that she’d never stopped loving him. And that was terrifying.

* * *

Graham had to show his ID and practically give a blood sample to get permission to enter the pediatric ward. For a small hospital, there was still a lot of commotion about Grace signing books. Hospital security sent up two officers, and once again, as in the book store, a drove of thrilled children and their parents gathered around Grace. She’d created a whole world that everyone was clamoring to be a part of.

He understood the feeling. He wanted to be part of her world too, and for the first time, he felt like it was possible to leave their past behind and start again. If he could just convince her to believe it.

A feeling of pride came over him as he watched Grace as she sat in an open play area surrounded by colorfully painted murals, talking with kids and signing books.

Yet, if he were honest with himself, he hadn’t always felt like that. Her career had been a bone of contention between them. She’d gotten published and then suddenly famous—really famous. It had felt to him at that time that the fictitious Adaline and her escapades were way more important to her than their marriage was—thanhewas. Her work had become another barrier that kept them from comforting each other after their son’s death.

Now, watching the children and parents interact with Grace, he saw by the looks on their faces how much the books meant to them. Despite or perhaps partly because of their son’s death, Grace had created something truly special that had touched a lot of people. In his book, that was amazing.

“I have two questions for you,” a nurse who introduced herself as Helen said to Grace as she finished up with the crowd. “One, can you sign a book for my granddaughter, and two, when you’re done here, would you come down the hall to the nursery and visit us too? The nurses all have kids who read your books, and the new parents would love it too, if you have some left.”

“Of course,” Grace said, but Graham noticed her smile was a little tight. He immediately got why, because he felt the same way. Seeing a bunch of plump, happy babies and their parents would be difficult under the best circumstances. Yet it was Grace’s nature to agree, regardless of the emotional cost.

Graham approached her as she shook the last parent’s hand and hugged the last child. “You know, you don’t have to go to the nursery. You can just sign a pile of books and—”

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